“Iran, a Land to Know,” a collection of Davoud Vakilzadeh’s photos on Iran cultural heritage has been published in three languages: Farsi, English and Italian.
Vakilzadeh, who has been awarded the top artistic certificate by the ministry of culture, is a famous name in calligraphy, graphics and more so, in photography, Honaronline reports.
“For me, art communicates my interests in culture, language, ethnics, and nature of Iran. No high ranking certificate is of importance; only the artistic work matters,” he said.
On his latest activities, he said: “Since 2001, I have been using painting and calligraphy in my photos. But due to the focus on photography and publishing my works, I have had less time for exhibitions.”
However, some time ago, he participated in a group photo exhibition in Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq, and Tajikistan.
Vakilzadeh described the process of publishing a photography book as “arduous.” His last book on bookstore shelves, “Tabriz; Turquoise of Islam” was published five months ago.
He urged the Iran Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHTO) and Iranology Foundation to support photographers focusing on Iran as their subject. “They (photographers) continue to portray Iran with no support,” he said and pointed to the high costs of living and traveling.
Davoud Vakilzadeh was born in 1959 in Torbat-e Jam, Khorasan-e Razavi Province. In 1991, he completed calligraphy course at Iran Calligraphers Association with distinction and started his artistic work as a calligrapher and later on, graphics.
Intrigued by his interest and studies in history, culture, and anthropology, in 2001, Vakilzadeh turned to photography with different aspects of Iran as his main subject.
He has published 46 photography books in 13 years.
